German court temporarily suspends psychotherapist fee reduction

On 9 July 2026 the Landessozialgericht Berlin‑Brandenburg issued an urgent injunction that pauses the immediate enforcement of a 4.5 percent cut to fees for psychotherapeutic services scheduled to start on 1 April 2026. The fee reduction, part of a broader health‑care cost‑containment reform, sparked nationwide protests by therapists who warned it would jeopardise patient access. The court said the ruling was based on methodological flaws in the calculations used by the Extended Evaluation Committee, including a mismatched comparison of practice revenues. The injunction is provisional pending a full judgment on the lawsuit brought by the Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung (KBV). The cut would have lowered overall remuneration by about 2.3 percent after accounting for increased structural surcharges. Professional bodies praised the pause, stressing that the reductions could worsen waiting times, increase suicide risk and generate higher downstream costs for the health system. The decision follows an ongoing debate over Germany’s health‑reform agenda and its impact on outpatient mental‑health care.